Before it Takes Over
by Cookie M 2012
Summary: For #KFPFRIEND16 "Before it takes over Tigress... you need to know..." When it seemed recent happenings for the inhabitants of the Jade Palace were going to get harder, Tigress receives a few soft spoken words she needs to know before the chance is gone... COMPLETED.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay people this is for the** **#KFP2016competition, being held by** **3431jess! Super excited to see what amazing stories are being entered, and I'm happy to send in mine! This will be two chapters long, so it's a short story XD hope you enjoy it!**

 **Please review!**

For the first time in her life, she wasn't looking at anyone in the eye. There was Po's paw on her shoulder, Viper's tail was trying to curl around her stiffened paw, Monkey sat at the base of her feet with Mantis perched on his shoulder like a pirate who had a parrot, and Crane stood on the same side as Viper, his wing lightly settled on her back. Everyone's eyes are on Wai Sau, a the local healer.

"No one knows why, or how this occurs. As far as we know, it can run in the family." He explained through a wringing of the hands. "In your situation... its unlikely for you to get it... but as we don't know your family history, we can't say..." Wai stood up, and cleared his throat as quietly as possible, but Po, Monkey, Crane, Viper, and Mantis eyed him slowly. Wai looked at each other them for a brief second, before picking up his things. "I must point out that he may get upset about things, if you point out the reality. He may remember things that happened years ago, but will think certain people are still around... just take precautions about things you say..."

The claws slowly retracted before it made a rip on the knees of her pants. "Thank you Wai Sau." Mantis spoke for her. The healer bowed quickly, and left shortly after. Silence filled the room, and no one wanted to be the first to speak.

"We're here for you," the boys looked over to see Viper, now sitting where Wai Sau was, twisting her head in a way that she's looking at the feline in the eye, while Tigress was still looking somewhere... anywhere, but Viper. "Any help you need, an ear, a tail..."

"I'll be fine." She said quietly, still not looking at Viper in the eye. "I can manage."

Po's paw tightened slightly on her shoulder. "Tigress... can you?"

"Yes." She wanted to smile, but it was weak, and empty, and the more she wanted to make it full or convincing...

How could she?

Before Po could say anything more, there was a soft wailing coming from the other side of the Hall of Heroes. Tigress stood up, and everyone watched her. "I'll see to it," she spoke with such authority, the others were convinced that it was like something never happened. "What you... you _can_ do, is make sure he gets fed... see you..." she hesitated. "I'll be there for dinner." She left without another word. She went from one side of the hall to the other, hearing the wailing grow louder at each brisk step. The steps turned into a jog, then a light run, then a sprint, until she reached the doors and opened them. She entered the room, and lifted the bundle out of the bed.

The bundle was small and squirmy, but had stopped wailing once Tigress start giving the occasional shush, and held it close. The bundle then started cooing, and the blanket was moved to reveal the little cub that Tigress was proud to call her own. His fur was snow white, smooth as silk, with black ears and tail. He was blind for a few more days, but his hearing was officially unclogged. His arms moved about carelessly, and only stopped when she held him close to her face. Those small, delicate paws, bumped off her face, exploring every aspect. "Hungry?" She asked softly, taking the baby over to the dresser, where she had a bottle already set for him. Bringing it to his mouth, he welcomed it and drank greedily, determined to drink ever ounce of it. She burped him, and then left the room as he started to snooze in her arms.

As she was about to pass a pillar, she heard Zeng waddling along with Shifu. She hid behind the pillar she was closest to, holding the cub against her chest. It didn't sound too good.

"Master please," the bird pleaded as he followed Shifu towards the door. "You must have some rest-"

"I will rest!" The old Master snapped. "I must wait..."

Zeng jumped in front of him. "Wait?! W-wait for who?"

Shifu elbowed him out of the way, limping along towards the door like he always did. No new injury, it was just what was part of his character. "I must find my student!"

"Which one?" Zeng questioned. He was in the room when Wai gave the diagnosis, but was gone to check on Shifu before Tigress left.

"What do you mean?"

Tigress inhaled, and turned her head, which was against the pillar, watching from the corner of her eye, seeing Shifu trying to get to the front door, if it wasn't for the bird, he would've been able to. Poor Zeng was just as confused as Shifu. "You have six students Master... one of them recently having a child-"

"No I don't! I only have one! I should know how many I have." Shifu said matter-of-factually. "As well as that student, I have..." The panda paused. "I have... a..." Tigress was starting to feel light headed.

"Daughter?" Zeng said helpfully. "She just had a baby..."

Shifu frowned, and the bird chuckled nervously.

"A baby?"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes... she just had one. A son... named after yourself..." Shifu still looked clueless. "Don't... you remember?"

Tigress turned her upper half, seeing Shifu looking at the floor. His walking stick was tightly in-hand. His face was fixed with frustration... "I.. um..." Zeng noticed Tigress there, but she pressed a finger to her lips, and he nodded. "I don't..."

Zeng nodded. "Oh... well that's... that's okay, maybe you'll remember later. Come on and we'll get you back to bed?"

"No! I told you!" Shifu declared. "I'm waiting for my son!"

"Your... son?" Zeng gulped nervously. "You mean..."

"Tai-lung. He's due to come home now." Shifu marched to the door. "He must be outside now... I must go to him." He opened the doors...

To be greeted by the hills, and view of the Valley below the thousand steps. The sun was shining, and high above the Palace. Everything was peaceful, but no one was there. Tigress may only have access to the view of Shifu's back, but she saw the movements; His shoulders stiffened, the wind gently pushed itself around his large ears, which slightly moved with the breeze, trying to pick up all the small sounds her ears wouldn't have been able to. Slowly, those ears were flat against his head, his shoulders turned into weights, and his body fell to the floor, only his upper half was caught with the support of his walking stick. Zeng squawked in panic, and he ran to Shifu side. "Master!" He said.

Nothing could over power the gentle cries from Shifu... something that wasn't _him._ "My son... he's gone. He tried to kill me... he hurt me. He's in prison... he'll _die_ in there... I want him home. He needs to be the Dragon Warrior... it's all been a mistake..." Shifu was hoisted back up onto his feet through it all, and during that, Tigress was not looking his way anymore. She was hiding behind the pillar again, holding her sleeping son close, his head nuzzled under her chin, and against her neck as he maneuvered the blanket up a bit more to save the sound from waking up her son. She wasn't hiding for the sake of being seen by Shifu...

It was so no one could see her cry.


	2. Chapter 2

**People have been asking me whether or not Po is the father to Tigress' child... the layout is done in a way so those who like TiPo think 'yes! tipo!', or those who aren't much of a fan to the shipping can assume she is with someone else, whom may or may not be in the picture in the exact moment, whether or not she could be an army wife of some kind, or that the father is out of the picture because of reasons...**

 **So whatever floats your boat, sail away readers!**

Everyone got the message Tigress _wasn't_ going to be there for dinner, so they left a plate of food for her sitting on the counter. She went to the kitchen after putting her son to sleep again, it was there in plain sight. She took it with her back the the room, and ate it in silence, watching the still cradle. His gentle breath and soothing coo's brought some peace to the uncomfortable silence, and after eating, it soon caused her to sleep for the first time in a few days...

* * *

 _Sweaty and tired, she glanced down at this little being in disbelief. His fur was still a little wet after his wash, but he was warm and secure under the blanket. No one else could utter a coherent sentence, they all just hailed his arrival after the doctor announced the gender, and now they were just looking at this little mini tiger in their friend's arms._

 _After his little fists already flailing, connecting with Mantis when he got too close. After Viper cooed and ahhed, and even after he copied her unintentionally long after they left the room to give her rest, just so they could treat Mantis to minor 'injuries' as he dramatically groaned over. It may be because he was just doing it to make Tigress feel more lively after her ordeal of child labour, or he was really hurt (unlikely)._

 _"I just want you two to be safe..." Po said with concern. "I wanna make sure you're both are okay."_

 _"We will be..." Tigress let her head rest, with her lower modesty covered carefully by the blanket throughout the whole delivery. The blanket managed to stay clean, but the doctor had to get more fluids and vials of all the essentials she paid no attentions to. "Getting me some of your famous noodle soup would be lovely though..." Po didn't want to leave her alone, but that made him go, and gave her time to her son alone... and may be some time to rest properly..._

 _"Ah...?" Tigress looked down at the baby in her arms after the door shut. Her lower half was too numb with a whole different pain, to be frank, too much, for her to move, but she held him up against her blue cotton shirt, the collar drenched with sweat. A paw raised up, and she let him hold onto one finger._ He's beautiful, _she thought with a smile and over whelming feeling._

 _"The best part is that he's yours." She turned to the source, and there was Master Shifu, standing silently in the door way. "The um..." he coughed awkwardly. "Doctors, wouldn't... let me come in to assist."_

 _Tigress smiled. "You are a Kung fu Master, after all." She stated matter-of-factually. "Would you know a thing or two about child birth?"_

 _"Of course not." Shifu walked in, and closed the door slowly. Once the sliding doors clicked, his paw curled into a soft fist against the handle. Apart from the baby, all was quiet. "Once someone was here to support you... I wanted to be in here," he was talking with his back to her. She could almost laugh- life with Po around allowed her to- he looked like he was talking to the door. "But Zeng got me once you were settled in and ready."_ _She nodded like she understood, but said nothing, and just looked at her son quietly. "Can I..." she looked up at him, and his head was started to move in her direction. "...hold him?"_

 _"Yes." Short and simple was Tigress' thing that still needed work. He turned and walked towards her slowly. The baby was hoisted up, which gave Tigress the time to relax properly. Ever since he was in her arms, she was afraid of dropping him. Her body immediately sank against the extra pillows she was given, eyes shutting on their own. She could hear the baby mumbling, and he almost sounded like he was whimpering._

 _"He's beautiful." Shifu said softly, clutching the baby close, helping it quiet down._

 _"Isn't any baby when their born?"_

 _"Each baby is special..." Shifu's paws twisted around the baby's delicate digit, inspecting every aspect. "And your son is destined for greatness..." The baby gave a small cry in agreement, and this made Shifu chuckle. "What's his name?"_

* * *

Tigress' eyes opened at that exact moment.

* * *

 _"I spoke to you about this Master," the tiger remembered the moment when she, cradling her stomach while watching the sunset with Shifu, saying the same words that she spoke in that point in time. "I would have him named after the teacher before me..."_

 _Shifu's eyebrows knitted together slightly, before shaking his head. "Of course we did..." he sounded unsure. "Yes, quite." He handed the child back gently. "Welcome little Oogway..." he said softly._

 _"Um... Master."_

 _"Yes?"_

 _"I chose_ your _name... his name is Shifu..."_

* * *

 _That could have been a sign..._ Tigress could of damned herself for not knowing. If she caught it on, things would not be the same as they are now. _Things would of been different.. they would have been okay..._

Before she did something drastic, she picked up her son, and lied on the spare cot for a while, with him sleeping on her chest. The heart that thumped within her was his lullaby to send him back to sleep if he was to stir, cry, or wake up. She didn't bring a scroll with her, so to pass the time she stared up at the ceiling, taking in every little detail; the colour, the ray of light that the sun caught onto it, the tiny crack in the corer that had been there since the storm a few days back, and Viper took little Shifu out of the room once it started getting a bit much, and they noticed the leak and crack... which worried her in the chances the baby would catch a sickness, but the nights were humid and heated, so there wasn't any danger of him getting ill, but Crane said he'd get the patch mix to fix it... hopefully he'd be down there now...

 _Knock knock._

"Come in." She looked back down at her son, his paw curling around hers, squirming when the door opened.

"Master Tigress?"

"Zeng."

"Master Shifu... wishes to speak with you."

There was a sense of tension floating around Tina's head, and a weight was going against her. Zeng involuntarily agreed to look after the baby until she left, and she reluctantly walked out, her footsteps echoing at every step, and she soon found herself wandering into the Sacred Hall of Heroes. The sun was starting to set, casting an orange glow to bounce off the green marble floor, and reflecting pool. The light bounced off the artifacts and armor. If the door was closed, the light wouldn't be as strong...

"Hello?" His silhouette stretched across, almost the full length of the room. She didn't have to turn around to acknowledge he was looking directly at her. The way his head was twisted judging by his shadow told the tale. "Tigress?"

Twitching out of habit, her ears made a small fanning noise that only she could hear. _He will remember me on and off..._ she thought, while starting to walk out the room. _But I mustn't upset him..._

Shifu stood in front of the steps, so once he started looking over the Valley, his toes were at the tips of the steps. Tigress stood behind him, arms behind her back, feet shoulder length apart. The warmth of the sun was starting to lighten up, and slowly fade away with the reddening sky that hung high above the Valley and beyond.

Tigress watched him intensely, leaning to the side, trying to see his facade from the distance she had between the two. It took a few tries, but once she was close to the mini goal, Shifu noticed her and turned to her. "Tigress..."

The feline bowed in respect. "Are you okay Master?" She asked inquisitively. The old red panda just looked at her, ears twitching as his finger opened and closed against his palms slowly. Tigress checked him over, but neither of them said anything until Shifu turned back around and sat down on the step.

"Am I well?" He asked, before his fingers found each other in a weird clump on his lap. "I don't feel like it..."

"You're fine Master," the tiger smiled reassuringly. "You're just a little under the weather-"

"You had a baby didn't you?"

"Yes..."

"His name is... mine?"

"Yes..."

"But why?"

Tigress walked up to him, and knelt beside him; the panda remained facing ahead with both his head, and his eyes. "I chose to name him after you because I feel that he will follow suit..." She smiled when Po's words of wittiness; words of the boy gaining his mother's strengths and motivation. "He will be a great teacher, and warrior one day..."

Shifu turned to her. "I'm not well." Why was he changing the subject so quickly? "Something is going to happen... I know it..." Shifu placed a paw on top of hers, and her attention immediately fell onto that. "I know I'm going to forget who and what is- and are around me..." Shifu sounded like he was going to cry. "I don't want to upset you..." he said quietly. "I knew there was something wrong... I thought Tai Lung was coming home... someone told me about you... your son... he'll be okay... won't he?" Tigress nodded, holding back that lump in her throat. "I have been unfair to you since you were a child... gave you no love... and now I'm fading away from all whom I have grown to know. I ask you... to be patient."

Tigress looked at him in confusion. "Master... what do you mean?"

"I may not remember what I will say now... but I want _you_ to remember... Before it takes over Tigress... you need to know... that I wish I had given you enough affection..." A tear slid down his cheek, and his paws wrapped around her paws. "Tigress... you're are my daughter, and I wish you to remember I want to remember... I love you Tigress, I hope you find it within you a part that is willing to forgive everything I have done, and will do to you."

"Will?"

His grip tightened. "I'm going to hurt you again..."

Without warning, Tigress had him in her arms; he was standing, and she was still kneeling, but he was there, he was in her hold, and she didn't want to let him go. Her Master, her soul carer, her...

She then whispered it, making his heart lift, and another tear drop.

 _After that day, even though the time had come, through ever ounce of his frustration, his tears, his angry fits, silence, smiles, or presence, he knew_ she _was something different to the others. He spoke softly about her to the others, especially a special little boy he came to see him. It was a touchy subject he moved away from quickly, but the boy didn't mind. The others found it hard to comprehend, and so did **she...**_

 _ **However.**_

 _"After that day," she told them, late one night with her now pre-teened son sitting by her, "he took the chance to make things right before the chance was gone..." her head echoed one word within without saying it aloud, and she smiled as it kept close to heart._

That word was Bà.

* * *

 **Bà- Dad**

 **Hope you liked it everyone! Please review and let me know what you think!**

 **Ciao!**


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